Squad car vandalized, 4 men arrested

Four alleged gang members have been charged with criminal damage for allegedly vandalizing a Chicago police squad car early Sunday in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, police said this afternoon.

The squad car was parked at about 4:30 a.m. in the 800 block of West Lill Avenue when the four men took a cap from a fire hydrant and smashed the front and rear driver-side windows and the windshield, according to Chicago Police Officer Dan O'Brien.

A witness on the scene gave police a description of the men's car and its license plate number, O'Brien said. Two officers were returning to the squad car when they saw a vehicle leaving the scene at high speed.

The men were arrested about four hours later after a traffic stop in the 2300 block of South Sawyer Avenue in the Little Village neighborhood.

Sergio Avila, 23, of the 2400 block of South Sawyer, Edgar Armenta, 23, of the 2200 block of South Troy Street, Jovani Salgado, 23, of the 2300 block of South Sawyer, and Hugo Armenta, 22, of the 2200 block of South Troy, were each charged with two misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property, O'Brien said.

In addition to the criminal charges, Avila also was given three traffic citations. The four men are due in court on April 24.